SYPNOSIS after getting hurt at the airport, you decide not to tell the members, thinking they wouldn’t care.
WARNINGS crazy airport fans, bruising y/n getting hurt, lots of worrying, hurt/comfort, protective cortis members, and keonho and y/n being incapable of acting normal for more than five minutes
NOTE i got tired by the end so theres not much dialogue🥲
->based off this request!!
being an idol, you quite liked your job. maybe because you were still in the honeymoon phase, which meant that you found everything funny. getting stalked? funny. chased? funny. hated on for breathing? funny.
one thing you absolutely could not stand, however, was airports. they were a nightmare from start to finish. the second you arrived, there were hundreds of fans packed together behind barriers, screaming names loud enough to make your ears ring. cameras flashed nonstop from every direction, paparazzi shouted questions nobody intended to answer, security guards barked orders at people who never listened, and everyone seemed determined to push their way closer. it felt like pure chaos compressed into one building, and every time you walked through it, your brain felt like it was being attacked from all sides at once.
so on the way to the airport, you were trying to stay as calm as possible, but inside, you were already freaking out. you sat quietly in your seat while the members chatted amongst themselves, occasionally glancing out the window and mentally preparing yourself for what was waiting outside. no matter how many times you did this, it never got easier.
as soon as you stepped out of the van and were met with loud cheers and wild fans, you immediately let out a sigh, putting your sunglasses on so that the flashes of cameras would stop bothering your eyes so early in the morning. the noise hit you instantly, making your shoulders tense. fans screamed your name from every direction while dozens of phones were shoved into the air, all trying to capture a glimpse of you.
during the entire walk, fans were wild, pushing security, pushing each other, and screaming so loudly that it became difficult to even hear the members talking beside you. every few seconds there was another camera flash, another person calling your name, another body trying to squeeze closer. you were annoyed, and you could tell the other members were annoyed as well, especially seonghyeon and keonho. martin, james, and juhoon were better at hiding it, but every now and then you caught the tight expressions on their faces.
you were almost at the check in area, and you finally started to relax. once you got your tickets, things would calm down. fans wouldn’t be able to follow you anymore, security would have an easier time controlling the crowd, and you could finally breathe without feeling like a zoo animal on display.
suddenly, you heard a loud commotion. “y/n!” a fanboy screamed, his voice cutting through the crowd as he sprinted towards you with his phone raised in the air.
before anyone could properly react, he slipped past security and rushed straight at you. his hand shot out and wrapped around your wrist so harshly that it immediately hurt. “y/n, i love you! please take a picture with me!” he yelled excitedly, yanking you closer as if you were some kind of doll.
for a second, your brain completely stopped working. you just stared at him, unable to process what was happening. your muscles locked up, your chest tightened, and all the noise around you suddenly felt distant.
seonghyeon reacted first. he stepped between the two of you and shoved the guy back. “hey, man. back off,” he snapped, his patience clearly gone.
“security!” martin called immediately, grabbing one of the guards by the shoulder.
the moment the guard realized what was happening, his eyes widened. he rushed over and grabbed the fanboy, dragging him away from the group while the guy continued shouting your name. for a brief second, you thought it was over.
then somehow the fanboy managed to wrench himself free.
everything happened so quickly that nobody had time to react before he was charging towards you again. the guard lunged after him and caught him a second time, this time using much more force as he tried to restrain him. the fanboy struggled wildly, throwing his arms around as he fought against the guard’s grip.
and then his elbow slammed directly into your stomach.
the force behind it made your entire body jolt.
suddenly, you couldn’t breathe.
you had read somewhere that getting hit in the stomach could temporarily knock the air out of you because the impact shocked your diaphragm. you had always assumed people exaggerated it for dramatic effect.
your lungs refused to cooperate. no matter how hard you tried, air wouldn’t come. panic immediately flared inside your chest as you stood there frozen, eyes wide, desperately waiting for your body to remember how breathing worked. the world blurred around the edges while everyone continued moving, security finally dragging the fanboy away for good.
“you okay?” juhoon asked quietly once things settled down.
you looked up at him. for a moment, you considered telling the truth. your stomach hurt, your chest felt tight, and you still felt shaken from being grabbed in the first place. but there were cameras everywhere, fans watching every movement, people recording from every angle.
so after a brief hesitation, you nodded.
juhoon’s expression immediately told you he didn’t believe a single word. still, he nodded back and continued walking.
throughout the entire check in process, the members kept sending worried glances your way. every time you looked up, someone was watching you.
seonghyeon kept frowning whenever he thought you weren’t looking, keonho looked one question away from pulling you aside, and even martin, who was usually good at acting normal in public, looked unusually tense. you were sure they wanted to talk to you, to ask if you were actually okay, but with hundreds of eyes and cameras surrounding them, they couldn’t risk causing another scene.
so you ignored every look they sent your way and pretended everything was fine, even as your stomach continued to ache and your breathing still didn’t quite feel normal.
after the fans were gone, all six of you were finally able to walk through the airport without cameras constantly being shoved in your faces.
the silence should have been relaxing, but it wasn’t.
every step sent another pulse of pain through your side. the place where you had been hit felt like it was on fire, and even something as simple as breathing too deeply made your stomach ache. you kept your face neutral, refusing to let anyone notice, but at one point your eyes had watered from how much it hurt and you had to blink rapidly to stop yourself from actually crying.
“hey, you’re okay, right?” martin’s voice broke the silence so suddenly that you nearly jumped.
everyone immediately looked at you.
you looked up at martin, caught off guard by the question. but it wasn’t really the question itself that made you pause. it was the way he said it.
he sounded like he already knew the answer.
like he expected you to say yes.
like he wasn’t actually asking if you were okay.
you hesitated for a second before nodding your head.
the relief on everyone’s faces was immediate. that made you feel even worse.
you looked away from them, staring down at the floor as you continued walking.
it wasn’t a big deal. it was probably going to bruise a little, but thats okay because people got hurt all the time.
you were surrounded by guys who trained until they collapsed, performed through injuries, and worked schedules that barely gave them enough time to sleep. compared to all of that, getting elbowed in the stomach was nothing.
besides, what exactly were they supposed to do about it?
cancel schedules because your side hurt?
the thought felt ridiculous.
you told yourself that they probably wouldn’t even care that much if they knew. maybe they would ask if you were okay, maybe they would tell you to be more careful, and then life would move on. there was no point making a big deal out of something so small.
so you kept walking and ignored the pain.
on the plane, you were unfortunately forced to sit with keonho and seonghyeon.
“the kids sit together.” james announced before immediately abandoning the three of you and heading towards his own seats with martin and juhoon.
after a ridiculous amount of arguing, complaints, and threats, you successfully bullied keonho into giving up the window seat.
meanwhile, seonghyeon sat in the aisle seat looking annoyed. “can you both shut up?” he muttered while buckling his seatbelt.
eventually the plane took off, and the three of you settled down.
you rested your head against the window and stared outside.
the ocean stretched endlessly beneath the plane, bright blue under the sunlight. far below, you spotted a tiny boat drifting through the water completely alone.
you found yourself staring at it.
you wondered what life would be like if you were down there instead.
just the ocean and silence. for a brief moment, that sounded a lot nicer than whatever your current life was.
your thoughts were interrupted when a sudden sharp pain shot through your side.
you immediately stiffened.
at some point during his sleep, keonho had shifted closer to you. his elbow was pressing directly into the spot where you had been hit earlier.
it felt like someone was digging their fingers directly into where you were hurt.
you tried to ignore it for several seconds because waking keonho up felt like more trouble than it was worth, but eventually the pain became unbearable.
without thinking, you shoved him away harshly, and keonho practically launched upright in his seat. “what?” he asked sleepily. “what’s wrong?”
that was all you said before standing up.
keonho immediately groaned. “you’re so annoying. this is why you should get the aisle seat and i get the window seat.”
“i’m not sitting in the middle.” seonghyeon muttered without even looking up from his phone.
you squeezed past them while both boys awkwardly shifted around to make room.
halfway down the aisle, you forgot they weren’t the only members on the plane.
your hand instinctively moved to your ribs. you winced and kept walking.
martin, juhoon, and james all looked up at exactly the wrong moment. their confused expressions followed you all the way to the bathroom.
once inside, you locked the door and immediately lifted your shirt. the sight made your stomach drop.
a large purple bruise was spreading across your side.
it looked worse than you expected. much worse. you stared at it for several seconds before quickly lowering your shirt again.
there was no reason to panic.
you took a deep breath and left the bathroom. while walking back, you immediately noticed three pairs of eyes watching you.
martin looked confused, juhoon looked concerned and james looked suspicious.
“i told them i’m fine. so annoying.” you muttered under your breath.
by the time you reached your row, your annoyance had shifted towards a completely different target.
keonho was sitting in your seat, sleeping.
the middle seat beside him was empty.
you stared at him for a moment, then immediately leaned over seonghyeon and smacked keonho’s arm.
he jumped awake with a startled yelp.
before he could process what was happening, you grabbed his shirt and physically dragged him towards the middle seat.
“no!” keonho shouted while desperately trying to pull himself back. “i paid for this seat!”
“get out of there right now.”
“can you two stop acting like babies?” seonghyeon complained as both of you practically crushed him between your bodies.
a few moments later, a flight attendant appeared beside your row with the smile of someone who was trying very hard not to lose her patience. “excuse me, ma’am, but i’m gonna have to ask you to sit down.”
you hesitated for a moment, before slowly sitting down in the middle. keonho immediately settled into the window seat with the most obnoxious smug grin imaginable.
you were furious. a few minutes later, he attempted to rest his head on your shoulder.
you shoved him away instantly. “do not touch me.”
he rolled his eyes before leaning against the window instead. “wow. beautiful view.”
he glanced over. “something wrong?” he asked, smiling.
you seriously considered hitting him. judging by the way he immediately raised his arms in defense, he knew exactly what you were thinking.
before either of you could start fighting again, seonghyeon finally snapped. “just shut up, both of you. literally so annoying.”
you and keonho stared at him, then immediately started ganging up on him.
“why are you even talking right now?” you asked. “all you do is scroll on that damn phone. i haven’t seen you look up once this whole flight.”
“and no one was speaking to you.” keonho added helpfully.
before seonghyeon could respond, the woman sitting in front of you turned around.
“excuse me.” she said with a tight smile. “there are people on this plane trying to relax.”
all three of you stared at her, becoming even more annoyed.
“yeah. we’re sorry.” seonghyeon said immediately.
the woman nodded and turned back around.
the three of you sat in silence. you and keonho both sulked, each leaning away from the other as much as possible, while seonghyeon returned to his phone looking completely exhausted.
“hey, are you sure you’re okay?”
james asked the question while all six of you stood around the hotel reception desk waiting for your room keys.
you paused and looked at him, immediately recognizing that look on his face. it was the exact same look martin had given you at the airport and the exact same look juhoon had given you on the plane. somehow, all three of them had decided that you were secretly dying despite the fact that you had already told them multiple times that you were perfectly fine.
“i told you that i’m fine already.”
james immediately shook his head.
“no, i know something happened—”
before he could finish, a loud voice cut through the lobby.
“why am i in a room with y/n? can’t we just be with the same people as in the dorms? this is so unfair!”
everybody turned towards keonho.
“can i go with someone else?” seonghyeon complained from beside him. “i cannot keep dealing with keonho and y/n. all they do is argue, argue… oh and argue! they’re exhausting!”
you exhaled dramatically and immediately abandoned james. “i should be the one complaining!” you shouted while running over to them. “why should i have to be with these two? they’re loud, nasty, and annoying! they don’t understand boundaries!”
“you started a fight with me on the plane!”
“because you stole my seat!”
“it should’ve been my seat!”
“guys, i am begging you…” seonghyeon groaned while rubbing his face.
within seconds, all three of you were arguing over each other in the middle of the hotel lobby while confused guests openly stared at the spectacle unfolding in front of them.
“martin, come on, i wanna go with james and juhoon!” you whined.
martin smiled at you with absolutely no sympathy. “sorryy. the kids gotta stick together.”
before you could protest, he walked away with the others.
you stared after them in disbelief.
a few minutes later, the three of you were standing alone near the elevators.
the silence that settled over the group felt strange after all the shouting.
“get my stuff.” you snatched the key card out of keonho’s hands before he could react.
“oh, come on!” he complained immediately. “you have too much stuff.”
you ignored him completely. the elevator doors opened and you stepped inside.
keonho continued complaining the entire way to the room.
once the door finally opened, you immediately claimed the bed beside the balcony before either of them could even take their shoes off.
“you got the window seat and the balcony bed?”
“no, keonho, i didn’t get the window seat because you stole it from me.”
“i paid for the window seat!”
eventually everyone unpacked, showered, and got ready for bed.
hours later, the room was dark and quiet. you lay on your side facing the balcony doors while soft moonlight spilled across the room.
outside, the city stretched endlessly beneath the night sky. tiny lights glowed in the distance while the moon hung high above everything, bright and peaceful.
you found yourself staring at it.
somehow, no matter where you were in the world, it always looked familiar. it didn’t matter if you were exhausted, stressed, angry, overwhelmed, or homesick. the moon never changed. every time you looked at it, it felt like seeing an old friend who had quietly followed you everywhere without ever asking for anything in return.
the constant schedules, the screaming crowds, the cameras, the pressure of being watched every second of every day all seemed smaller whenever you sat and looked at it long enough.
it never completely fixed anything, but it always helped.
even now, with your side still aching every time you moved and your head full of a hundred different thoughts, you could feel yourself slowly relaxing as you watched the silver light spread across the balcony floor.
for the first time all day, you felt calm.
then your bed suddenly creaked. slowly turning around, you immediately spotted the source of the problem.
seonghyeon was lying in your bed.
“oh, fuck off!” you immediately launched yourself at him. “get out!”
you started shoving him towards the edge, but seonghyeon simply wrapped an arm around your waist and held on like a parasite refusing to be removed.
the commotion was loud enough to wake keonho. he sat up sleepily and blinked towards your bed.
for several seconds he simply watched the two of you wrestle. then, to your horror, he stood up.
“don’t you dare get any closer.” your warning accomplished absolutely nothing.
he climbed onto the bed and immediately flopped down on your other side.
you immediately started shouting at both of them. the problem was that neither seemed remotely interested in listening.
seonghyeon had already closed his eyes again, and keonho had stolen one of your pillows.
both of them looked entirely comfortable.
after several more minutes of arguing, shoving, and threatening violence, you finally realized neither of them was moving.
with a frustrated groan, you dropped back onto the mattress.
“why am i in the middle again?”
seonghyeon’s eyes remained closed.
then you nudged keonho with your foot. he didn’t respond.
you leaned up slightly and discovered that both of them had already fallen asleep.
you stared at them in disbelief.
you genuinely hated them.
after another minute of contemplating whether murder would be worth the prison sentence, you finally rolled onto your back and stared at the ceiling.
the moonlight still spilled through the balcony doors, casting a soft glow across the room. despite how annoyed you were, the steady breathing on either side of you and the quiet darkness surrounding the three of you made the room feel strangely peaceful.
you would never admit that out loud, though.
the next day was exhausting from the moment you woke up. between rehearsals, makeup, hair styling, interviews, outfit changes, and the actual performance itself, it felt like you barely had a second to sit down and think. normally you enjoyed busy schedules because they distracted you from everything else, but this time the constant movement only reminded you of the bruise on your side. every stretch, every turn, and every sharp movement sent a dull ache through your ribs, forcing you to grit your teeth and pretend nothing was wrong whenever somebody looked your way.
fortunately, nobody seemed to notice. the members were too busy preparing for the performance, running through choreography one final time and teasing each other backstage while the staff rushed around trying to keep everything on schedule. whenever the pain flared up, you simply ignored it and focused on something else. after all, you had already gone this long without telling anyone. there was no point bringing it up now when the performance was only minutes away.
when it was finally time to go on stage, your nerves disappeared almost immediately. the second the music started and the crowd began screaming, your body automatically slipped into performance mode. suddenly your focus was on the choreography, the audience, and making sure you stayed synchronized with the others. for a little while, you almost forgot about the bruise entirely, too distracted by the adrenaline rushing through your system to think about anything else.
everything was going perfectly until the middle of one of the songs. during a particularly energetic part of the choreography, you threw your arms above your head while turning, and your shirt lifted slightly from the movement. it happened so quickly that you didn’t even notice. james did, however, because he happened to glance in your direction at exactly the wrong moment. for a split second, his eyes landed on the dark bruise stretching across your side, and the expression on his face changed instantly.
throughout the rest of the performance, james kept looking at you whenever he thought you weren’t paying attention. at first you couldn’t figure out why, but the increasingly worried look on his face made you uneasy. every time your eyes met, he would immediately glance away before looking back again a few moments later, as if he was trying to convince himself that he hadn’t actually seen what he thought he had seen.
the second the performance ended and all six of you returned backstage, james immediately walked over to you. he barely waited for the dressing room door to close before pointing at a chair and telling you to sit down. the seriousness in his voice caught you off guard, and judging by the way everyone else stopped what they were doing to look over, it caught them off guard too. when you asked what his problem was, he simply repeated himself and told you to sit.
you refused immediately. unfortunately, that only seemed to make him more suspicious. before long, martin had joined him, followed by juhoon, then seonghyeon, then keonho. somehow, within less than a minute, all five of them had decided that whatever james was worried about was now their business too. the fact that nobody would explain what was happening only made you more irritated, and after several minutes of arguing, you found yourself sitting in the chair anyway because apparently five people were stronger than one.
the request made you freeze.
for a moment, the entire room fell silent as you stared at james in disbelief. when he repeated himself, you immediately refused, but the determined look on his face didn’t change. finally, after an increasingly uncomfortable pause, he revealed that he had seen the bruise during the performance. the second those words left his mouth, every member in the room turned to look at you.
with a dramatic groan, you reluctantly lifted the edge of your shirt.
the reactions were immediate.
the room exploded with shocked voices almost instantly, and several members physically stepped closer to get a better look. nobody seemed prepared for how bad it looked. overnight, the bruise had spread even further across your side, creating an ugly mixture of dark purple and blue that was impossible to ignore. for several seconds, everyone simply stared at it while trying to process what they were seeing.
martin was the first one to speak, but the others immediately started asking questions as well. when did it happen? how did it happen? why did nobody know about it? eventually you explained everything, starting with the airport and ending with the fan accidentally elbowing you while fighting against security. the more details you gave, the more horrified everyone looked, especially when you admitted that you couldn’t breathe properly afterward.
the room became strangely quiet once you finished explaining.
for a few moments, nobody said anything at all.
then keonho finally looked at you and frowned. “why didn’t you tell us?” he asked, and for once there wasn’t even a hint of teasing in his voice. the question made everyone look at you again, all waiting for an answer.
you hesitated before shrugging your shoulders. honestly, the answer seemed obvious to you. it was just a bruise. yes, it hurt, but bruises happened all the time. compared to everything else idols dealt with, it didn’t seem important enough to make a big fuss over. more than anything, you simply hadn’t wanted them worrying about something so small when they already had enough things to think about.
when you finally admitted that, the members looked even more confused.
martin crouched down slightly so he could look you in the eyes, while james crossed his arms and shook his head in disbelief. they immediately started explaining that the issue wasn’t how serious the injury was. the issue was that something had happened to you and you had chosen to deal with it alone. according to them, it didn’t matter whether it was a bruise, a cold, or something much worse. if you were hurt, they wanted to know.
you tried arguing that it really wasn’t that deep, but nobody accepted that explanation. juhoon pointed out that you had been visibly uncomfortable since the airport. james reminded you that you had literally struggled to breathe afterward. seonghyeon quietly mentioned that he had noticed you wincing every time you moved on the plane. even keonho admitted that you had been acting weird ever since the airport incident, although he immediately ruined the sincerity by saying that your normal behavior was already weird enough.
despite the teasing, there was something surprisingly comforting about the conversation. nobody was angry at you. nobody was annoyed. if anything, they seemed upset that you had felt like you couldn’t tell them. as they continued talking over each other, insisting that you should have said something sooner, you slowly realized that all the assumptions you had made over the last day had been completely wrong.
you had convinced yourself that they wouldn’t care because it wasn’t serious enough. instead, they were treating the bruise like it was the most important thing in the room. you had convinced yourself that telling them would only make them worry unnecessarily, but judging by the expressions on their faces, finding out days later had worried them far more. for the first time since the airport, you felt some of the guilt and anxiety start to disappear.
eventually martin reached over and gently flicked your forehead, earning an offended noise from you and several laughs from the others. he told you that next time you were injured, sick, upset, or dealing with literally anything, you were supposed to tell them immediately instead of trying to handle it by yourself. one by one, the others agreed, and although they all phrased it differently, the message remained the same.
and despite how annoying they were, despite all the arguments, complaints, and constant chaos they brought into your life, hearing that made the ache in your chest disappear far more effectively than any medicine ever could.
TAGLIST 50/50 @fimmisstuff @konolien @jiyeons-closet @seonghyeonskibidi @ri-eveowe @ocyeanicc @cherid0ll @tetsur0-1 @claireo-o @peetabreaaad @stxrripure @lunaryoongie @stargirlxe @aespaqq @seovk1 @hrrystylesss12345 @paydadakoksevmiyorum @rie-diculous @boochisuri @isackiscunty @h0neylemon @stxr-lilac @vzergg @6rei-ji @cupidvx @vavavy @hans-sweetie @faeriwonz @fromsaltandsea @sunkissezd @beljakovina @aphantassia @hyeoncake @ningninjas @sidluvskeonho @lucy1568 @lalipop143 @sourcandyfish @tinkerbellsgf @saaaaasie07 @skyeincc @amethyystlvr @hyuneskkami @cosmicwintr @sonyui @lynvriee @hheerrmmiitt @ilovemamamuti @thisismepls @anglheartz TAGLIST CLOSED
©cortismoon all rights reserved. Please do not copy, repost or claim as your own.
dailybridgerton
romaincrisis
discoholicmusic
gummygunk
stormborns
andulkaphoto
vaporwave
